The first strike drew blood.
Marek stumbled back, crimson seeping through the gash on his shoulder. His expression twisted—not in pain, but in something close to amusement.
"Well," he muttered, rolling his shoulder as his flesh began knitting itself back together. "This might actually be fun."
Then he vanished.
No sound. No movement. Just gone—like a shadow slipping out of reality.
But I had already moved.
A split second later, the ground where I stood exploded, reduced to a crater by the force of his punch. A direct hit would have shattered me into nothing. But I wasn't the same boy he left to die years ago.
I twisted midair, flipping over him, blade flashing toward his neck.
He dodged, the wind pressure alone from his movement sending shockwaves through the ruins. The debris of a collapsed building was caught in the force and lifted into the sky, spinning like weightless leaves in a storm.
Marek grinned. "Fast."
I didn't waste breath on a reply.
I surged forward again, blade singing through the air. Marek met my attack with his bare hands, deflecting my strikes with raw power. The clang of metal against reinforced flesh sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield. Each clash shattered the ground beneath us, sending out fissures that tore through the city ruins like spiderwebs.
Then he countered.
A fist ripped through the air, aimed for my ribs. I twisted at the last moment, avoiding a killing blow, but the sheer pressure of the punch still sent me hurtling through a half-collapsed skyscraper. Steel beams and concrete exploded outward, dust filling the air like a storm.
Before I could even hit the ground, he was there.
Marek appeared above me, his fist cocked back, ready to turn me into dust.
I reacted instinctively.
My Apex Titan Mode flared to life.
The world slowed.
The veins in my arms pulsed with raw power as my body adapted, processing every micro-movement before it even happened. My sword swung up, not to block—but to redirect.
Marek's punch connected—just not with me.
His fist collided with my blade, and the energy behind it was redirected into the sky. The force was so immense that the clouds above split apart, forming a massive vortex as if the heavens themselves had been torn open.
For a fraction of a second, Marek looked surprised.
I drove my knee into his chest.
A shockwave detonated outward, sending him crashing through four buildings before he came to a stop, buried beneath the rubble.
The silence that followed was deafening.
The entire battlefield was in ruins. What was left of the city had been obliterated by our clash. Dust and debris hung thick in the air, blotting out the sky.
But I wasn't done.
I took a step forward—
Then the ground beneath me erupted.
A pillar of crimson energy burst from the wreckage, cutting through the sky. The sheer force of it warped the air, bending reality itself.
Marek emerged, his eyes glowing red, his body crackling with energy. His grin was gone.
"You…" His voice was a growl, barely human. "You're not just some Apex."
Lightning arced around him as the ground beneath his feet melted from the sheer power radiating off his body. His muscles tensed, his aura a vortex of raw destruction.
For the first time in years…
I felt excited.
"Come then," I said, raising my blade. "Show me what a Titan is really made of."
And then we collided again.
---
Marek lunged, his crimson aura tearing through the battlefield like a storm.
I met him head-on.
Our fists collided, and the shockwave ripped apart the ruins around us. Buildings that had stood for decades crumbled in an instant. The ground beneath us caved, creating a crater large enough to swallow an entire city block. The very air vibrated, splitting apart from the sheer force of our battle.
But he was too slow.
I saw his every move. Every shift of muscle, every micro-adjustment in his stance. My Apex Titan Mode was fully active, my body adapting instantly to his attacks.
He threw a right hook. I sidestepped, my sword slashing across his ribs. Blood sprayed.
He roared, swinging wildly. I ducked, twisting around him, my knee slamming into his spine. His body cracked as he was sent flying through the wreckage.
Before he could recover, I appeared above him, blade raised high.
I brought it down.
Marek barely managed to block with his forearm—a fatal mistake.
My blade sliced through muscle and bone, severing his arm at the elbow.
He howled, staggering back, clutching the bleeding stump. His crimson energy flared wildly, but it was useless now. His stance wavered, his strength failing.
He looked at me, eyes filled with something I never thought I'd see in him.
Fear.
"You…" he coughed, blood dripping from his lips. "You're a monster…"
I stepped closer. My sword dripped with his blood, gleaming in the dim light.
"No," I said, my voice cold, empty. "I'm justice."
His justice.
The justice of every family he had slaughtered. Every innocent life he had erased. Every person who had suffered under the hands of Titans like him.
But I wasn't going to let him die quickly.
That would be too merciful.
---
Marek tried to crawl away.
I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground, his feet dangling helplessly. His remaining hand clawed at my arm, but it was pointless. He had lost.
"You don't remember me, do you?" I whispered.
His eyes widened slightly, realization creeping in through the haze of pain.
I tightened my grip. "You killed my family."
Recognition dawned.
Then—laughter.
A broken, ragged sound. Even in defeat, he still had the arrogance to laugh.
"Ah… now I remember…" he coughed. "That village… the little boy…"
Rage flared in my veins, but I didn't let it control me. Not yet.
I dropped him, letting him collapse onto the rubble. Then I brought my foot down—crushing his knee into dust.
His scream echoed through the ruins.
Good.
I grabbed his remaining arm and snapped it backwards at the elbow. Another scream.
I kneeled beside him, watching the pain twist his features. "Do you feel it?" I murmured. "The helplessness? The weakness?"
His breathing was ragged. "Go to hell…"
I drove my blade into his leg, twisting it slowly.
"Hell?" I mused. "You don't deserve hell."
I yanked the blade out, and his body convulsed in agony.
"You deserve nothing."
---
Marek's healing was slowing. His Titan abilities were failing him. He had lost too much blood, his body too broken to regenerate.
He knew it too.
He looked up at me, lips trembling, fear now fully replacing his arrogance.
"…P-Please…" he choked.
I stared at him for a long moment.
This was the man who had butchered my family. The man who had stood over my sister's lifeless body and smirked. The man who had ruined countless lives, thinking himself untouchable.
And now, he begged.
Pathetic.
I grabbed his face, forcing him to meet my gaze.
"This is what happens," I said, "to those who think they are gods."
Then I plunged my blade through his heart.
His body jerked. His crimson eyes widened in horror. His lips parted as if to speak—perhaps to curse me, perhaps to beg again.
But no words came.
I twisted the blade.
And Marek Vallis, the slaughterer of thousands, the Titan who believed himself invincible—died on his knees.
I pulled my sword free, watching as his lifeless body slumped forward, blood pooling at my feet.
For years, I had dreamed of this moment.
But there was no satisfaction. No relief.
Only silence.
Only the hunger for more.
Because Marek had been only the first.
And my war was just beginning.
---